With its new yet-to-be-chosen technology partner, the National Association of Realtors is re-launching its e-PRO certification program, a re-launch that could face some serious competition. Progressive Endeavors is the court-appointed operator of Websuite, the NAR's former technology partner for e-PRO that went bankrupt in December. Progressive is planning to capitalize on its experience operating an educational site for Realtors and has announced an Internet training and certification program of its own, Nexpert. Open to any broker, state association, corporate educational department, franchise, real estate schools, or state agencies, Nexpert will be a private-labeled educational and certification licensing system for anyone who wishes their staff to be Internet qualified and certified. Is there room for two certification organizations? The e-PRO Internet certification was a worthy dream -- an NAR-united Internet-trained membership. But NAR strategic alliances committee picked a young dot-com called Websuite that had never operated an educational site before. Financial woes caused Websuite to file for bankruptcy in December 2000, six months after launching e-PRO. The NAR was out almost $500,000, and many members were stranded with no way to complete their course work. Progressive Endeavors was appointed by the Websuite bankruptcy judge to operate the Websuite business during bankruptcy proceedings. The company had the job of servicing all the stranded real estate agents who had signed up for the e-PRO course and paid their money, but could not sign on to the system to complete their course work. "We didn't expect NAR to come back and talk about e-PRO," says Progressive founder Bob Hayes. "So we are changing our Web sites around and doing a mass launch and timing it for today." Why today? Today is the day the NAR is no longer under bankruptcy court gag order to announce their new e-PRO II product. "The NAR is free to announce their product, but they can't sell it until June 23rd," says Hayes. "We have customers lined up and currently we have a list of about 1,300 waiting for the new program pre-launch." Hayes anticipated that the NAR would announce the name of its new technology partner today, not knowing that the trade organization isn't ready yet. "The NAR hasn't made a decision yet," said Steve Cook, spokesperson for the NAR. But Hayes has another tactical advantage besides timing. He also has the same membership list as the NAR. Progressive Endeavors will continue, by court agreement, to operate the e-PRO system for Websuite and the NAR until June 22, 2001, but after that the company is on its own. But until then, it has a whole month to sell Realtors before the NAR's new e-PRO II gets kick-started. The company has already signed the Washington Association of Realtors to do a co-branded Internet certification for its agents, says Ivy Bauer, spokesperson for Websuite/Progressive Endeavors. All in the past? The NAR is trying to put the whole Websuite/e-PRO fiasco behind it. In a brief apology to Realtors who had been adversely affected by the e-PRO fiasco, Mary Stark Hood, vice president of member benefits and a member of the strategic alliances committee, explained that the e-PRO students' troubles were beyond its control, and encouraged registered students to finish their course work before the deadline on June 22, 2001. "Students who are registered and have fully paid for the e-PRO course will now have until June 22, 2001 to complete the program," wrote Hood. "After that time NAR intends to continue to offer, support and, indeed, enhance the e-PRO program, although it will subsequently be operated by a different vendor." Determined not to make the same mistake again, the NAR strategic alliances committee is working to select a new vendor to provide the technology infrastructure for e-PRO II.